The Anderson intelligencer. [volume] (Anderson Court House, S.C.) 1860-1914, 1887-05-19
A POTENTIAL WORD.
THRILLING ESCAPE M A PASS OF
THE ROCKY MOUNTAINS.

Waiting with Desperate Calmness for
tho Tragic Catastrophe-saved by the
Utrerance OF Single word..The Dam
ger Line Passed.
sit is sometimes said that chome' and
mother are the most grateful and touch
ing and inspiring words known to man."
remarked gentleman who had just re-
turned from O trip to the far west OF
America.
"Well, perhaps they are to the majority
Of men, he added musingly, "but"-with
sudden emphasis-eI know word that Is
easily chief among the 10000 words in
the imperial dictionary.
There was general pricking OF ears In
the company to which the extraordinary
assertion was made.
"I'l tell you how it was,n he continued.
"We were in Colorado-at Georgetown
and four of us decided on doing the Argen-
tine pass of the Rockies, 1850 feet above
the sea. We started out-four OF us besides
the driyer-in a Two horse wagon. The
ascent was steep. will not say 1t was
perpendicular, but a good steep angle
couldn't touch it. Pokerishp Well, If
some Of you Detroiters who live on tho
dead level and have never seen that mag
niflcent western country could but family
imagine the real pokerishness Of that
climb you might have something to talk
about But the reality beats the liveliest
imagination.
"We started out, as said, and oil were
in good spirits, ready to dare anything,
and eager, on the whole, for dangerous
adventure We climbed and struggled and
strained and toiled. q think we actually
worked harder than the horses.) Breath
ing became serious question with some
of us who were unused to the rarefied
air, but we were having spirited adven-
tl.re and didn't care much for the diff
culties Of breathing.
POSSIBILITIES or ASSIMILATION.
'sWhen we had mounted II, 900 feet the
awful sublimity Of our situation began to
impress itself upon us. We were not too
ignorant to realize the immediate possi-
bilitics Of annihilation. believe some Of
us said something about the almighty
majesty and the dread power OF the Gre
ator Of scene that could so overWhelm
us with awe and force down our throats,
as it were, o conviction of our own help
less and pitiful insigniticance.
"Suddenly ne began to feel O vague
sense Of danger. What was itp we asked
ourselves. The Indies Of our party were
livid. felt O despairing sinking, though
: I spoke some words that were meant to be
reassuring to my fellow travellers. Still
that awful something held us in its clutch.
Another instant and we knewl Merciful
Godl The horses had become exhausted,
and the weight Of the wagon and Of its
human load was pulling them down.
"What was to be our fatep We should
certainly be hlled-horribly lnangled,
may be.
'sI don't know how many deaths we
died in these supreme hours-seconds,
mean; but do know that had given
myself up for lost and that waited for
the tragic catastrophe with desperate
calmness. Heavensl How long I lived
in those fearful secondsl Imagination,
swifter than flash Of lightning saw my
own funeral; saw the group Of black clad
and weeping mourners; saw my fatherless
children coming year after year to my
grave-and T don't know how many
equally cheering visions.
sHubbuckP
s'I started like one shot. What had
happened? The horses gave lurch for
ward. Our descent was checked.
" sHubbuckp
"Hurrahl God be praised! We were
moving up the treacherous steep again.
The danger line was passed. 'Hubbuck'
had saved our lives"
'.Hubbuck9' queried one Of the eager
listeners. "What In blazes do you mean
by Hubbuck7''
'sBless me If I know" was the travel
er's reply. "All that can tell about 1t is
that's what the driver yelled at his horses
when they made that forward lurch. And
to this day I think Hubbuck the best and
the most moving word in any language
the human tongue ever wrestled with. ~
Detroit Free Press.